


Love At First Sharpie

by decoylullaby



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shop, Barista Castiel, Coffee Shop, First Date, Law Student Sam, Love Letters, M/M, Meet-Cute, Random Acts Of Kindness, Small Business Owner Castiel, office worker dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:13:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28986918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/decoylullaby/pseuds/decoylullaby
Summary: Castiel is a barista and owner of the Busy Bean, a downtown coffee shop loved by locals. When Dean becomes a frequent customer, Castiel begins leaving encouraging notes on his cup in sharpie. He has no idea how much those little acts of kindness might mean.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 7
Kudos: 108





	Love At First Sharpie

**Author's Note:**

> Second Supernatural Story! Enjoy!

It had started out pretty innocently.

Castiel didn't normally take that much notice of his customers, but this man...how could he not notice? As soon as he had seen his stunning green eyes, his short, dark blond hair ruffled from the wind outside, something had stirred in him for the first time in a while.

"Welcome to the Busy Bean, what can I get started for you?" Castiel asked as the man reached the counter.

"Just coffee, please," the man said a little gruffly, but politely. "Medium."

"Sure thing. Do you want room for dairy?" Castiel asked. The man looked puzzled, so Castiel added, "Do you take milk? We keep it at the end of the counter."

Understanding dawned on the man's face. "Oh, no thanks, just black."

"Great," Castiel said. He rang up the coffee and pulled a medium paper cup from the stack. "And can I get a name?"

"What?" the man asked, looking surprised. Castiel smiled warmly.

"For the cup, so that you know when your order's ready."

"Oh, sure, it's Dean."

Castiel confirmed the spelling and wrote the name on the cup with a flourish. He sent Dean to the pickup counter and poured the coffee from the carafe, placing the full cup on the counter in front of Dean. He looked up and smiled.

"Order up!"

Dean grinned crookedly, which Castiel counted as a win. He picked up the cup, thanked Castiel, and headed out the door. Castiel worked very hard to keep his eyes above Dean's belt as he walked away.

For a while, Castiel didn't see Dean again.

Then, he started coming in every few weeks, and then every week, and then every couple of days. Each time, he spoke more easily with Castiel, and even tried the seasonal latte that Castiel had recommended (he said he liked it but Castiel could tell he found it too sweet compared to his usual black coffee). Then, one day, Dean came in looking like he'd already had a dozen cups of coffee. He shakily ordered his usual and Castiel slowly pulled the cup from the stack and wrote out Dean's name.

"You sure? You look pretty wired already," Castiel said. Dean ran a hand down his face.

"I know, I'm sorry. I've been up all night and the only thing that's kept me up is about two pots of coffee. Not as good as yours though," he added with a weak chuckle. "I have this big presentation today, and I really need it to go well."

Castiel's face softened and he smiled. "Well in that case, I'm sure you'll do fine. Sounds like you've been working really hard on it."

"Thanks," Dean said with a tired smile as he tapped his card on the reader and Castiel stamped his frequent brewer's card. Dean ritualistically made his way to the pickup counter, and Castiel took the opportunity to write a quick "Good luck on your pres" on Dean's cup before pouring the brew and handing it to Dean. Dean took it and thanked Castiel without looking at the cup. Castiel hoped that he would see the message before his presentation.

After that, it sort of became a habit, especially on the days when Dean had something important coming up. Castiel would write a little message on the cup and Dean would take it without reading the message. He wasn't sure why he did it, he didn't even know if Dean read them at all, but it was something to do and it made Castiel feel better having done it, so he continued.

One day, Dean threw a wrench in the whole thing.

First of all, he came in on the weekend, which was highly out of the ordinary. Second...

"My usual," he said as Castiel pulled the cup, "and a medium vanilla soy latte, too, please."

Castiel looked up from writing "Dean" on the cup and eyed the man curiously. He set down the named cup and picked up another. "And the name for this cup?" he asked, trying not to sound too suspicious.

"Sam," Dean said and a chill ran through Castiel's spine. He wrote the three ominous letters and set the cup to the side, ringing the items in on the computer.

"Sam, huh?" Castiel said, trying to keep the bitter iciness out of his voice. "Who's that? New girlfriend?"

Dean snorted a laugh. "Nah, just my kid brother. He wanted to see just how good the coffee was, since I come here almost every day, and he's into that vegan stuff so..." Dean trailed off, tapping his card and not looking up as he put it back in his wallet. "I don't really do...girlfriends."

Castiel felt a blush rise to his cheeks and he felt his heart pound in his chest as he tried to objectively interpret the meaning of Dean's last sentence. Castiel smiled at Dean to relieve the tension.

"I'll work extra hard on this one, then," he said, turning away with the cups. He quickly whipped up the soy latte and held Dean's cup in his hand, hesitating in front of the carafe. Before he could talk himself out of it, he quickly took the sharpie from his apron and scrawled out his phone number, just above the paper sleeve, before filling the cup and taking both drinks to Dean. He smiled as innocently as he could.

"Have a nice day. Say 'hi' to your brother for me."

Dean nodded and left with the two drinks. As soon as he was out of sight of the store windows, Castiel slumped against the counter. At least now he would know whether Dean read the cups or not.

\-------

Dean arrived at the college campus about five minutes after the time he'd agreed on with Sam, but the latte was still warm, so he hoped he'd be forgiven. Sam was sitting at their usual spot in the quad, all bundled up against the cold with his nose in another one of his law books. Dean sat down next to him and held the latte in his peripheral vision.

"One vegan cup of syrup with a splash of coffee," he said teasingly as Sam put the book away. His brother took the coffee and produced a bitchface.

"Shut up. It's good, you should try it."

"I've tried enough of Cas's concoctions to know I'm not interested," Dean said with a laugh, sipping his coffee, which had cooled down just enough. They chatted about Sam's school and Dean's office job for a while before Sam chuckled.

"Hey, Dean."

"What?"

Sam pointed at his cup and said, "I think you got a little bonus from the barista."

Dean chuckles. "Yeah, Cas's always leaving me little..." He held up the cup to look at Castiel's note of the day when he saw the digits and had to fight down a blush. "Uh...huh."

This only made Sam laugh harder. "Wow, didn't know you had a thing for baristas. No wonder you're always visiting this place. Need to get a little eye candy with your morning coffee?"

The blush fought back hard and Dean punched Sam in the shoulder. "Shut up, bitch."

"Ow!" Sam exclaimed, rubbing the spot where he'd been hit. "That hurt, jerk."

Dean stayed silent while he willed his heartrate to go back to normal. Sam, blessedly, said nothing as well, though Dean could sense the stupid triumphant grin on his brother's face. Finally, Sam changed the subject and began telling Dean about a cute girl in his classes who he was getting to know. They had met as part of a study group and he was going to ask her to join him for lunch at class the next day.

"You should ask out Cas, too. I know you want to, and now you know he wants you to, too."

Dean opened his mouth to retort, but it was undeniable at this point. He sighed and held the cup between his knees, slightly hunched in defeat. "Yeah, maybe."

Sam sat silently for a moment, staring out across the quad. After a while, he added, "You know, I haven't seen you as happy as you are talking about Cas in a long time."

Dean downed the rest of his coffee and stood up. "Well, I've got some errands to run. It was good to see you, Sammy." He turned back and, looking at his brother, his face softened into a fond smile. "And thanks."

Sam grinned back and stood up, too, shrugging on his backpack. "You're welcome. Good luck."

"You, too," Dean replied before heading back to his car.

That afternoon, Dean sat on the edge of his couch, staring at the empty coffee cup from that morning and the numbers written in Castiel's flowing script. In his other hand, the same digits were typed into his phone and his thumb hovered over the call button. He looked between the two items several times more before sighing and standing up. He went to hit the back arrow on his phone, but as he adjusted the phone in his hand he fumbled and grabbed the screen reflexively. He was clicking the power button when he heard the distant sound of the dial tone. Panicking, he tried to unlock his phone before the call was answered. Castiel didn't have Dean's number, he'd probably think it was just some telemarketer. But before Dean could abort, he heard Castiel's distant, tinny voice.

"Hello?"

Dean scrambled to get the phone to his ear. "Hello? Hi, it's uh...Dean."

"Oh, hello, Dean." Castiel sounded like he was smiling, and didn't that make Dean's stomach flutter. "Are you alright? You sound breathless."

Dean sat down and ran a hand through his hair, kicking himself internally. "Yeah I...I just brought a bunch of groceries in from the car." Castiel hummed and Dean leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. "Listen, uh..." What was he supposed to say, anyway? He thought of Sam earlier, heard his brother's words ringing in his head. You should ask out Cas. "Do you...are you busy tonight?"

"Tonight?"

"Yeah. I was...I was gonna go out to the Roadhouse for a burger. Do you want to come? With me?" Dean slapped a hand to his forehead as quietly as possible. Smooth, Winchester.

"I'd love to. I finish my shift in an hour. Would you like to meet here? I normally take the bus."

"Sure, that would be great!" Dean said. He couldn't believe that had worked. "I'll be there in an hour. See you soon!"

"Yes, Dean, see you soon," Castiel replied and then the call disconnected.

Dean threw his phone on the cushion beside him and pumped both fists in the air. Not bad overall, for his first time asking someone else out in years. He quickly showered, dressed in his nicest jeans and the flannel that Sam said went well with his skin tone, and was out the door with time to spare.

\-------

When Dean walked through the door, Castiel almost leapt over the counter to greet him, until he checked his watch and saw that the man was about ten minutes early. Calming his racing heart, Castiel went back to cleaning the espresso machine. There had only been a few customers here and there for the last half hour, mostly retail workers picking up dinner before their 5PM shift. Dean came up to the pickup counter, near where Castiel was working.

"Hey, sorry I'm a little early," Dean said. He looked sheepish as he rubbed his neck. "Guess I was a little eager to get out of the house."

"That's perfectly alright," Castiel said, trying to sound less excited than he was. "Would you like something to drink while you wait for my shift to finish?"

Dean looked surprised, which confused Castiel. Dean clarified, "Don't you think it would be a little weird for you to make me a coffee, since we're going on a...date?"

Castiel smiled cheekily and grabbed a cup. "Don't worry, you can just make it up to me later." Dean fumbled for his wallet but Castiel shook his head, writing Dean's name on the cup. "On the house."

"You can do that?" Dean asked. Castiel chuckled as he poured coffee from the carafe.

"I should be able to, I own the place," he said. "I'll just have to remember how many cute guys I've given free coffee when I go to balance my books."

Dean accepted the cup, looking slightly crestfallen. "You, uh, give free coffee to a lot of 'cute guys'?"

Castiel grinned. "No, just one."

Dean's face lit up and he looked at the side of the coffee cup where his name was written. "'Good luck on your date'?" he asked. Castiel smirked. 

"I don't think you'll actually need it, though. Seems like this date of yours is quite taken with you."

Just then, the doors swung open and a slightly frazzled blond hurried in. "Sorry, Castiel, the bus was running a little late," she said, shucking her coat and heading for the stock room. Castiel chuckled.

"Don't worry, Claire, take your time," Castiel said warmly. "But don't actually, I've got a hot date."

Claire appeared from the kitchen area, tying her apron behind her back. "You? Really? With who?"

Castiel nodded towards Dean, who gave a little wave. Claire's eyes widened.

"Really? This is the dreamy guy you're always talking about?"

Castiel flushed and pulled off his apron. "Okay, that's enough of that. Come on, Dean, let's go."

Castiel went through the kitchen to the break area, grabbing his trench and shrugging it on. He emerged from the back and made his way towards Dean. Dean took a swig of his coffee and then led Castiel out to his car. His Black Beauty of a car.

"Wow," Castiel said.

Dean beamed with pride. "You like her?"

"I'm not much of a car person," Castiel said reverently, "but even I can tell this is a really nice car."

"You bet your ass. Come on, I'll take you for a spin before dinner."

Castiel climbed inside and sat down on the passenger side of the bench as Dean slid in the drivers side and started the engine, which revved with a gentle purr. Classic rock played softly through the old stereo and Dean pulled out onto the quiet downtown street.

"Did you have a good meeting with your brother?" Castiel asked conversationally. Dean's lips quirked up as he stared out the windshield.

"Yeah. Actually, I'll have to thank him later," Dean said cryptically and didn't elaborate. Castiel let it hang until Dean continued, "Do you have siblings?"

"Several, actually," Castiel said unenthusiastically. "Mostly doctors and lawyers now. In fact, only my brother Gabriel and I have 'substandard' jobs by my parents' standards."

"I wouldn't call owning a successful business 'substandard'," Dean said. "What does your brother do?"

"He runs a small chain of candy stores," Castiel explained. "'Something Sweet', I don't know if you've heard of them. He sometimes sends me samples to sell at the Bean."

"Oh, yeah! I've been there. Very whimsical," Dean said. Castiel chuckled.

"Indeed. Just like Gabriel."

They passed the rest of the drive making small talk and getting to know each other in simple ways. Castiel learned that Dean's father was a mechanic most of his life and ran an auto shop with his friend and Dean's "Uncle" Bobby. He learned that Sam was studying to be a lawyer, "But the good kind," and that his mother was a painter. Castiel told Dean about his failed attempt at following in his older sibling's footsteps and his decision to drop out of an undergraduate in medical sciences and instead take some small business courses while working as a barista. Eventually he had enough schooling, experience, and savings to open his own place and after years of barely scaping by it had become a local favourite.

When they arrived at the Roadhouse, Castiel was starving. Dean had raved about the burgers and on ordering one, Castiel found that he was not exaggerating.

"This is the best burger I've ever eaten," Castiel muttered around a mouthful before diving in again. Dean laughed and picked up a fry.

"Right? I'm ruined for every other burger joint in the country."

"Damn right you are," bartender and owner Ellen said from behind the counter. According to Dean, she and his family went way back, and he thought of her daughter Jo as a little sister.

After the burgers, Dean and Castiel chatted some more over a drink. Before Castiel could even offer to pay, Dean told Ellen to "put it on my tab!" to which she rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like, "it's only a tab if you pay it." Outside, Dean held the passenger door open for Castiel, allowing him to slide inside before he carefully closed it. Dean sat behind the wheel and turned the car on again, but didn't shift gears. Instead he just sat, hands loosely resting on the wheel. Castiel was afraid to break the silence, so he waited until Dean spoke first.

"I don't want this night to end."

Castiel sighed. "Me neither." He thought for a moment, and then added, "I haven't been on a date like this...ever. I haven't even been on a date at all in years."

Dean chuckled. "Yeah, me neither." There was another moment of silence until Dean said, "Do you want to come back to my place? I still owe you coffee."

Castiel smiled. "That would be lovely."

Dean reversed out of the parking spot and got on the road back into town. They parked in a lot in front of a row of narrow but warm-looking attached houses and Dean turned off the car.

"Well, here we are," Dean said. Castiel smiled, unbuckling and stepping out into the parking lot. He followed Dean along the sidewalk to a house near the end, and Dean unlocked the door, leading Castiel inside. The house was warm in contrast with the increasingly bitter evening chill, and it smelled nice, like a rich-scented candle. Dean flicked on the lights, revealing an open-concept first floor and a bright, clean kitchen straight ahead. Dean shucked his coat and his boots, and Castiel did the same.

"Make yourself comfy," Dean said, gesturing towards the couches to the left of the door. "Feel free to turn on the fire place, the switch is next the mantle.

Castiel made his way to the living area, turning on the fireplace before he went to sit. Just as he was lowering himself onto the couch, he caught a glimpse of Dean in the kitchen, turning on a high-quality espresso machine.

"Dean, is that..." Castiel said, admiring the appliance. It was almost nicer than the ones he had at the Bean. But if Dean could make excellent coffee at home... "Why do you come to the Bean if you've got something like that at home?"

Dean chuckled, tamping down the grinds. "I was running late one day and it was on my way to work," he explained. "Guess I liked the ambiance."

Castiel was dumbfounded. Dean locked the portafilter in place and then paused. He turned to Castiel with a big grin. "Actually, there's something I want to show you."

He walked over to Castiel and held out his hand. Castiel hesitantly took it and pulled himself up off the couch. Shoving down his fears of what he might be about to find in the upstairs of the house of a man he was now realizing he barely knew, he followed Dean up the stairs to a room down the hall on the left which appeared to be Dean's office. It was warmly decorated, with a few plants, some photos of family and friends, and a large corkboard on the wall next to the computer. Dean flicked on the lights and stood next to the corkboard. Getting a better look at it, Castiel saw pieces of thick paper pinned all over it. Paper with...his handwriting. Castiel brought a hand to his mouth.

"Dean, these are..."

"The notes you left for me," Dean confirmed. "I...kept them. Cut them out. They really brought me out of some tough places, and they're a reminder that there are good people out there, people with big hearts." Dean closed in on Castiel and took his hands in his own. "People like you."

Dean pulled Castiel into a hug and continued next to his ear. "Thank you. It meant everything to know someone cared, someone was listening."

Castiel hugged Dean back. "Of course, Dean. You're welcome."

Dean pulled away and squeezed Castiel's hands. "Now, come on. We'll see who makes the better espresso, you or me."

Castiel laughed and followed Dean down the stairs. He never realized what an impact those little notes would have, but he was glad that his little acts of kindness had made a difference.

As it turned out, Dean made an excellent espresso.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. I'm always looking to improve, especially since I'm new to posting, so please leave some feedback in the form of a kudos or comment to let me know how I did.


End file.
